Wednesday, July 27, 2016

Back on July 9th I attended the Northwest Mouse Meet in Lynden, Wa, and while I was there I found a great record store called Silver Platters in the same parking lot as the convention centre. I found a few neat things, including this Record Store Day 2016 release called Disney Favorite Songs, featuring classic and new Disney hits. The record was compiled by Randy Thorton.

Side A:

1. When You Wish Upon a Star (from Pinocchio)

2. A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes (from Cinderella)

3. Chim Chim Cher-ee (from Mary Poppins)

4. I Wan'na Be Like You - The Monkey Song (from The Jungle Book)

Side B:

1. Part of Your World (from The Little Mermaid)

2. Beauty and the Beast (from Beauty and the Beast)

3. I See the Light (from Tangled)

4. Lit It Go (from Frozen)

As well as this album, there was also a Skeleton Dane / Three Little Pigs vinyl single released and a really cool Disney record player from Crosley.

Monday, July 18, 2016

I picked this up with a bunch or regular Disney albums and didn't notice until I got it home that it was Mary Poppins En Francais (in French). I then thought that the music would be the regular English versions, and just the album jacket would be in French. To my surprise, when I put it on my record player what I heard was the entire album in French. It made me giggle to listen to Supercalifragilisticexpidelilicieux, it sounded so similar and yet so different. If you want to hear it, just go to Youtube and copy and paste the title of the song. I found a number of versions available to listen to.
This album is Buena Vista Records [Monaural] BV-3335, Walt Disney Productions 1964.

As a side note: On the great inner sleeve which promoted "Exciting Sounds on Buena Vista Records", I noticed they listed the price for Monaural and for Stereo versions of each album. For instance the Fantasia original sound track three record and beautifully illustrated book was [WDX-101-MONAURAL] $9.50 and [STER-101-STEREO] $11.50. I guess this means that you could walk into a record store in 1964 and see a Monaural and a Stereo version of the same album sitting side by side on the shelve. More likely, most shops would probably just pick one or the other to keep on hand, and chances are many people didn't realize there was a difference. It certainly took me many years to figure this out.

Friday, July 8, 2016

Here's something I found in a thrift shop recently. Its a CD of Disney music to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Disney Store. Here is what is says inside the CD: Since The Disney Store first opened on March 28th, 1987, in Glendale, California, it has grown to more than 600 locations and 20,000 Cast Members in 11 countries. To celebrate its 10th anniversary, The Disney Store has teamed with Walt Disney Records to produce By Request, a commemorative CD with a numbered edition limited to 35,000. By Request has a history like no other product at Disney. In spring 1997, The Disney Store invited Guests throughout the United States and Canada to vote for their favorite Disney song. Thousands of ballots were cast for Disney tunes ranging from traditional favorites to current hits. The votes were tabulated and the top 12 songs were compiled to create By Request, a collection that evokes magical memories and toe-tapping fun. This copy is number 32391 of 35,000.

Songs in order are:
1. When You Wish Upon a Star
2. Beauty and the Beast
3. Winnie the Pooh
4. Circle of Life
5. It's a Small World
6. Kiss the Girl
7. Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah
8. The Wonderful Thing About Tiggers
9. Hakuna Matata
10. Under the Sea
11. A Whole New World
12. A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes.

Sunday, June 12, 2016

Here is an awesome addition to my collection. It is a nicely produced official box to house the complete twelve title series of Walt Disney Legacy Collection CDs. If you have not picked up this set, it is well worth the money. Titles include: The Lion King (2 Discs), Mary Poppins (3 Discs), Sleeping Beauty (2 Discs), The Little Mermaid (2 Discs), Fantasia (4 Discs), Pinocchio (2 Discs), Lady and the Tramp (2 Discs), Disneyland (3 Discs), Cinderella (2 Discs), Toy Story (2 Discs), Pocahontas (2 Discs), The Aristocats (2 Discs).

Each album has the original soundtrack as well as lots of great extras such as unused tracks, demos, and alternate versions of songs. They also come with lots of notes and information related to the music on the discs.
My favourites of the collection are the Disneyland and Aristocats collections. The Disneyland one because I love any chance to listen to park music, and this comes with 3 discs full of great pack music including music from Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure Park. I also really love the Aristocats collection as it has so much great music including one of my favourites "Everybody Wants To Be a Cat", as well as some really fun "Lost Chords" and Bonus Tracks.
You can purchase the albums separately, or as a collection with the box, but it looks like the Disney Music Emporium web site is currently down with the following note; "We are working to enhance your experience and will be back soon with our full product line."

I look forward to seeing what new music they have in store in the near future!

Wednesday, May 11, 2016

Two of the albums I picked up last weekend caused me a bit confusion, as I didn't purchase any duplicate albums, and yet when I got home I found that I had two identical looking copies of "From Walt Disney's FANTASIA, The Pastoral Symphony". I then then realized that although the albums had the same music on side one and two, the cover of one had "Night on Bald Mountain" on the front and "The Pastoral Symphony" on the reverse. The centre of the record is red. The other album has "The Pastoral Symphony" on side one and the reverse has text talking about conductor Leopold Stokowski and the Philadelphia Orchestra, as well as notes about the three songs on the album; The Pastoral Symphony", "Night on Bald Mountain", and "Ave Maria". The centre of this album is grey.The Golden Age of Walt Disney Records 1933–1988 book pointed out that the "Pastoral" only cover with back cover folded flap with text is the mono version(WDL-4101C), and the version with "Night" front and "Pastoral" back cover is the stereo version (STER-4101C). I'm not sure why both of mine are WDL 4101C.
The only date to be seen is on the album with the text back cover which says "1961 Walt Disney Productions".

Sunday, May 8, 2016

This past Friday night I drove down to Seattle, WA for a concert. I planned on stopping in Marysville to have dinner at the Golden Corral Buffet. I was having so much fun rocking to my music that I went right by the Marysville exit, and had to get off at the next exit which is Everett. I happened to notice a used music shop which the sign said had CDs, DVDs and Records. I decided to stop in and when I asked if they had any childrens records, in stead of showing me a small box with a few albums, he pointed me to the back of the store where there were piles and piles of kids records, mostly Disney. I spent a good hour digging though the piles. I think I made it about half way though the kids records before I had to go. What you see in the picture is what I ended up coming home with. And I can't wait to go back to continue hunting though the rest of the records to more additions to my collection. If you are looking for this place, it is at the corner of Broadway and 25th Street in Everett, Wa. And don't worry, I made it back to the Golden Corral with enough time to chow down before my concert!

Sunday, April 3, 2016

Yesterday while out grocery shopping, I decided to check out the thrift shop next store, and came home with 7 records, including a sealed copy of Disneyland Records 3911, Walt Disney's Story of Sleeping Beauty, told and sung by Mary Martin. Anytime I find a sealed record in a thrift shop, I have to wonder, is this an actual still sealed, never played copy, or has someone resealed it at some point to make it seem more valuable. If that later is true, then how has it come to be sold for next to nothing in a thrift shop? I would love to open it and find that inside is a scratched up copy of a Village People album or some other album that someone has stuck in side and sealed up. But if it turned out that the album inside was truly the correct album and it mint condition, I would have just busted open a sealed album from 1958. So, in this case I guess I will have to just go with the idea that I have indeed found a sealed copy that is in the exact condition it would have been on the music store shelves back in 1958. What do you think? Have you found sealed albums in thrift shops etc? have you ever opened one that was sealed just for the fun of it? Have you ever sealed one yourself just because you could?

Monday, October 12, 2015

Today when I visited my local HMV music store, I was there to pick up a few special orders; Annihilator "Suicide Society", New Years Day "Malevolence" and Queensryche "Condition Human". While I was in the store, I took a look though the vinyl section and to my surprise, found a vinyl copy of Chilling, Thrilling Sounds of the Haunted House. The front has a sticker which states: "The original 1964 classic collection of spooky sound effects available on vinyl for the first time in over 30 years". Great move Disney... I have many copies of the original, and today, I 'had to' buy this copy. How could I walk out of the store without a shiny new copy of this record?
This was the first Disney record I ever owned as a kid, although my copy was the later version with an orange 'Halloween' looking cover. As a ten year old, I remember playing it over and over and thinking it was so cool. Listening to it today, it's hard not to chuckle at all the cheesy stuff that makes up this strange album.
On the back there is a 'Walt Disney Records Vinyl Vault Collection' logo. I was hoping to find a web site filled with new and upcoming Disney vinyl releases, but sadly I could not find anything about Vinyl Vault online. In fact I could not find much about this at all, although once I knew to look for it, I found it listed on Amazon.

Thursday, July 9, 2015

Yesterday I picked up a neat record at a thrift shop for just 25 cents. I had never seen this one before, so even though it was in rough shape with black electrical tape all around the edges and the original owners name and address on the front cover, I gladly picked it up! After carefully removing the electrical tape from around the outside edge and then placing it into a nice sealed album sleeve, it looks pretty nice in my collection. Its amazing how something that I almost didn't pick up because it was in such bad shape, ends up looking so good in my collection once a little TLC is given to it.
This is Walt Disney's "Three Little Pigs" A Capitol Record Reader, told by Don Wilson with members of the original cast. Adapted and produced by Alan Livingston. This version was manufactured in Canada by Capitol Records Canada, LTD.

Side 1
The Three Little Pigs adapted by Alan Livingston from the Walt Disney production, along with Don Wilsonian Original Cast music adapted by Billy May.

Side 2 contains a few miscellaneous Disney classics;
Whistle While You Work & The Dwarfs's Yodel Song
Hi Diddle Dee Dee & Little Wooden Head
Little April Shower & Give a Little Whistle
Heigh-Ho & Bluddle Uddle Um Dum
When I See an Elephant Fly & Casey Junior
Uncle Remus Said & Look Out For Mr. Stork
Happy Jack Smith

Thursday, February 12, 2015

With the resurgence in vinyl records, we are seeing more and more Disney related vinyl releases, and two of my favorite recent releases are two Disney 7 inch picture disc 45s.

The first was released on November 28th, 2014, as part of a special Black Friday Record Store Day event. It is the Frozen Holiday release with Side A "Do You Want to Build a Snowman?" and Side B "In Summer".

The second was released along with the release of the Big Hero 6 soundtrack. This record has the Fall Out Boy song "Immortals" on both sides of the disc.

I am not a real fan of picture disc LPs, but I do love picture disc 45s. The reason being that with a 45, chances are I won't ever bother playing it - although I did play both of these just for the fun of it (I think this may have been the first time my new turntable has ever been switched to the 45 speed). With an LP, I will almost assuredly play it a bunch, and the regular vinyl albums tend to sound better than the picture disc releases which often sound scratchy even on a first play. And, to me, a LP is supposed to be black.

Monday, May 19, 2014

Circle of Life. Collect these limited edition vinyl records - and take your favourite characters for a spin.

I joined the Hot Topic mailing list because they carry heavy metal vinyl albums and I wanted to keep up with all their sales. To my surprise, today's email said that Hot Topic is now selling Disney vinyl! The first two are picture discs for The Little Mermaid and The Lion King. Not sure if these will be available in the stores, or just though mail order, but I'll be checking out my local brick and mortar store to see if these show up.

Saturday, February 1, 2014

I have been buying more vinyl albums recently, as more and more stores are starring to carry vinyl again. I have been a little disappointed that Disney does not seem to be getting in on the vinyl resurgence. I would love to be able to buy a copy of the newest Disney soundtrack such as Frozen, on vinyl, but no such luck.

Then I happened to stubble upon a new Disney vinyl album on Amazon today, the Frankenweenie Unleashed! Original Soundtrack - 2 LP Amazon.com exclusive, released October 2012.

"Karen O has written an original song which will be featured in the end credits to Disney's highly anticipated movie, Frankenweenie, directed by Tim Burton. Strange Love is included on Frankenweenie Unleashed!, a 14-track compilation of music from and inspired by the film.

As singer/songwriter/composer and the lead singer for the rock band the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Karen O has collaborated with artists in music and film over the past ten years, including Spike Jonze, Trent Reznor, David Lynch, Flaming Lips, Barnaby Clay, Carter Burwell and many others. Karen composed the score for the acclaimed 2009 film Where The Wild Things Are (with Carter Burwell,) and she co-wrote the song All is Love (with Nick Zinner) which was nominated for a GRAMMYÂ® Award and Golden Globe for Best Original Song for a Motion Picture. Most recently, Karen contributed vocals to the Trent Reznor produced cover of Led Zeppelin s Immigrant Song for David Fincher s feature The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo.

Karen O told Rolling Stone, 'Tim [Burton] wanted an unconventional unconditional love song. My music inspiration came out of the same era of B movie fright film references sprinkled throughout the film. I went in the direction of exotica and calypso stylistically because it's quirky, good vibes music of that era and when you throw in a theramin solo it's a marriage made in heaven. I remember Beetlejuice introducing me to the genius of Harry Belafonte's calypso record so I wanted to give a nod to that too. We ended up with a love song for the end of the film to the film! Frankenweenie is so special, it's an unbelievable honor to be involved with it.'

In addition to Karen O's 'Strange Love', the Frankenweenie Unleashed! collection features original songs and one cover inspired by the stop-motion film event. The diverse range of artists includes Robert Smith, Neon Trees, Mark Foster, Plain White Ts and Kimbra.

Amazon's first Vinyl Exclusive also contains two additional bonus tracks from Finger Eleven and Sleeper Agent.

From creative genius Tim Burton (Alice in Wonderland, The Nightmare Before Christmas) comes Frankenweenie, a heartwarming tale about a boy and his dog. A stop-motion animated film, Frankenweenie was filmed in black and white and rendered in 3D, which will elevate the classic style to a whole new experience. Presented by Disney, Frankenweenie is directed by Tim Burton, produced by Tim Burton and Allison Abbate, from a screenplay by John August, based on an original idea by Tim Burton."

Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Friends of ours just got back from their first ever trip to Disneyland. There were two park CDs that I wanted, so I called Disneyland merchandise to find out where they were available and what they cost. Armed with the name of the store that sold them (Elias and Co. in California Adventure) and a $50 bill, my friends came through and brought home both CDs as well as park maps from both Disneyland and California Adventure. A BIG thank you to our friends, who it turns out have now been bitten by the Disney bug and can't wait for their next Disneyland trip!

The two CDs are:

The Music of Cars Land (34 minutes) $14.98
The CD features 13 tracks of music inspired by the film Cars. The final track is the Radiator Springs Racers attraction ride through which is five and a half minutes.

The Circle Sessions, The Music of Carthay Circle (37 minutes) $17.98
This CD features 12 jazz style versions of Disney classics including Ev'rebody Wants to Be a Cat, Alive in Wonderland, He's a Tramp and You've Got a Friend in Me.

Wednesday, March 27, 2013

I recently picked up this neat new Disney book with CD. It is part of a new Disney Read-Along series from 2009, which includes a read-along book and CD. This is the current version of the Disneyland Records book and record series that I loved so much from my childhood.
I loaded the CD onto my sons iTunes collection and he occasionally listens to the story while getting ready for bed. The actual book and CD are in my collection, but we did sit and read along with it the first time we played it.
I don't think he will get nearly the repeat playability that I did as a child, but then again, I only had a handful of records that I could listen to, while he has thousands of items in his iTunes collection that he can listen to with a couple of clicks of the mouse.
The inside back cover has an ad for the other titles in the collection which include: Cars, Winnie the Pooh, Beauty and the Beast, Cinderella, Toy Story, Toy Story 2, Toy Story 3, Tinkerbell, and Mickey Mouse, as well as 3 different 3 stories in 1 books.
The one thing that I found very disappointing about all of these current Read-Along Storybook and CD sets is that they have used glue to attach the CD pouch to the inside front cover, and the glue has left a stain though the cover. I noticed this on my copy, as well as all the other titles they had at my local book store. You can see it on my scan of the cover right behind the frogs head.

Sunday, August 19, 2012

Yesterday
I took a trip down to Marysville, WA to have dinner at the Golden Coral
Buffet, which was amazing as always. On the way there I stopped at a
few thrift stores and picked up a pile of really cool records including a lots of Disney records. My favorite of the bunch is this Spanish
edition of The Three Caballeros which is on Disneylandia Discos. Its
always cool finding something a little different, and this Spanish album
is certainly something I have not seen before. My other two favorites
are the America The Beautiful LP and the Babes in Toyland mini record
with book. I didn't notice until I got home, but the Babes in Toyland
record looks like it had never been opened, and it even had the business
reply card inside with return postage to Disneyland Records, PO Box
407, Pramount, Calif., 90723, USA. Its always nice to find something
that is in such pristine condition, especially in a thrift shop for just
50 cents!

About Me

Hello! I am Ronn Roxx (aka the unfocused Collector). I'm a Macintosh fan. I published my own KISS fanzine for 18 years called Firehouse Magazine. I love minor league hockey. I have a bunch of web sites (find the links below). And, I LOVE collecting stuff, especially Disney vinyl and ephemera.